While each personal injury claim is unique, there are certain similarities in the conduct of most motor vehicle accident injury actions and so generally we can advise you on what you might expect with your case.
Stage 1: Information Gathering During the initial phase of your injury claim, we will be dedicated to gathering evidence and information that will assist us in settlement negotiations later on. Typically some of the information that we will want to gather may include police reports, witness statements, medical reports, employment information, and data on out-of-pocket expenses and lost homemaking capacity related to your accident injuries. Once your injuries have resolved or at least stabilized, we will order final medical legal reports from physicians and caregivers who have seen you. Hopefully with proper and timely care you’ll recover relatively quickly, but in some cases it can take up to 18-24 months for soft tissue injuries to stabilize to the extent necessary for a doctor to provide a final medical report. Stage 2: Settlement Negotiations Once in receipt of final medical legal reports, in all likelihood we will be in a position to commence settlement negotiations with the at-fault party's insurance adjuster or lawyer. Our intent shall be to obtain fair financial compensation for your pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, income loss, medical and other out-of-pocket expenses, and for future care costs and lost homemaking and earnings capacity. We will, of course, discuss with you any settlement offers that we receive and any settlement offers that we propose to make. Stage 3: Filing a Lawsuit If we are unable to settle your case within a certain period of time, we may have to file a lawsuit, a Statement of Claim, in the courthouse. As you know, if our office does file a Statement of Claim in your case, it triggers an increase in our percentage fee, as per our contingency agreement. A Statement of Claim has to be filed in court within two years of the accident, and typically our firm will file it well in advance of the deadline. Stage 4: Serving a Statement Claim If after filing your lawsuit, the other side is still not willing to settle by paying you the compensation that you deserve, we will serve the Statement of Claim on the proper parties, and we will allow the other side a reasonable period of time to file and serve a Statement of Defence. Stage 5: Appointments for Questioning If necessary, we will then schedule an appointment for Questioning with the opposing solicitor. We will then arrange an appointment with you to review evidence in detail prior to Questioning. We will attend Questioning with you, where you will be examined under oath by the opposing lawyer. If the lawyer asks you improper questions, we will object on your behalf. Stage 6: Trial Once questioning is completed and undertakings have been fulfilled, if we still cannot obtain proper settlement dollars through negotiation and/or alternate dispute resolution we will set the matter down for trial, and will conduct the trial on your behalf. At that point our commitment will be to try to obtain a judgment in your favor.
CONNECT WITH INJURY LAWYERS IN EDMONTON READY TO CHAMPION YOU
We are hopeful that your case will be settled prior to trial and indeed prior to an appointment for questioning. Be assured that the vast majority of injury claims are settled out of court; however, our experienced team is ready to be alongside you every step of the way. Connect with us today and together, we will fight for your right to full and fair compensation. Call us today at (780) 448-0011 or toll-free at 1-877-448-0011 to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our accident injury lawyers in Edmonton. There is no fee until you collect.